Entries By mike king

RMI Guide Mike King and the Five Day Summit Climb completed their two nights on Mt. Rainier with a successful summit this morning. The team spent a little time on the summit before beginning their descent around 7:15 a.m. PDT. We look forward to seeing the team in Ashford later today and hearing about their time on the mountain.

The Mt. Rainier Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Mike King turned at the top of Disappointment Cleaver this morning. The team made the prudent decision to call Disappointment Cleaver their high point after assessing the snow pack determined the avalanche danger to be high. The team will descend back to Camp Muir before continuing their descent to Paradise later today.

Hey Team,
Well I was supposed to climb with you guys June 12-15, but I accepted a job and I ended up moving from Washington state to Texas and June 13 was my first day at the new job. I had to forfeit my position to climb, just a few weeks ago.
I know the feeling of training for months and then not getting to summit - it’s a bummer. This would have been my 4th time climbing with RMI on Rainier. I hope my message can reach someone new to RMI and mountaineering. Every climb is different and you learn something new each climb. It’s okay to be bummed for now, but don’t hangup your boots.
RMI is a class act and the more guides you meet, the more you will be inspired to keep climbing.
So, if you have that feeling of disappointment or being upset, know that it is normal and you can still tell your friends with pride, you are a mountaineer and that you will be back on Rainier soon. Happy trails. Matt

The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams, led by Mike Haugen and Mike King, turned at Ingraham Flats this morning after a rough night of snow and high winds. The guides reported an ominous cap over the mountain after checking in from Camp Muir. Shortly after 8:00 a.m., both teams began their descent to Paradise.

The Mt. Rainier Summit Climbs, led by JJ Justman and Mike King, reported a nice day with light wind, clear skies, and warm weather from the crater this morning. Both teams had a leisurely break after topping out at Columbia Crest. They left the crater to begin their decent just before 7:30am.

The Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Jake Beren and Mike King reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams began their descent from the summit shortly after 8:30 a.m. They will descend to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing their descent to Paradise. We look forward to greeting them in Ashford later today.

So things were looking pretty grim for flying out yesterday morning. We woke to more snow and a complete whiteout, keeping us locked in camp. We kept ourselves occupied with some games of trivial pursuit, stories and eating. As the day wore on a bit of sun shone thru the clouds and after dinner we heard the unmistakable drone of a DeHaviland Otter. Things were a blur after that. We broke camp in record time and moved our gear to the airstrip and loaded the planes before the weather moved back in. Once in the air we witnessed the skills that make these glacier pilots some of the best around. The clouds were heavy and thick all around us and once Patrick found a hole with some ground below, a few 360 degree diving turns put us under the cloud deck so he could navigate back to Talkeetna by sight, flying just a few hundred feet above the Alaskan tundra. So here we are back in town among the green trees and mosquitoes. A great time in the Alaska range with a fantastic group of people!

Well today our team got to practice a Denali soft skill that may be one of the most crucial; How to occupy your mind when the weather keeps you stagnant. We woke up inside a Ping pong ball and this strange snow that turned to rain as soon as it touched us. The team spent most of the day inside the kitchen telling stories, laughing and tying 50 meters worth of knots on our climbing rope. At times it was a tough lesson but the team stood strong. After dinner the skies started to break and eager for some activity, we broke camp and made a move back to base camp. It was eerily calm to have the glacier all to ourselves in a whiteout. It’s just past midnight now and we have just crawled into our tents. Tomorrow we are really hoping for some sun!

This morning under cloudy calm skies our team ventured onto the east ridge of Farine, an old remnant of perhaps a volcano comprised of very black rock.
Fun climbing on a ridge overlooking Camp 1 took us to a series of crumbling rock spires. We were stopped by bad snow in a steep gully capped by some very bad rock. As we descended in whiteout conditions to clearing clouds we got some great views of the surrounding valley. Back at camp with some time to kill, many folks grabbed some sleds to race down a slope just above our camp. Lots of belly laughing and memorable moments to behold as spectator or participant. It’s getting quite cold now so we are headed back to our tents to warm up.

A beautiful morning made for a pleasant exercise in breaking down our large camp and preparing our sleds for hauling up glacier. By 11:00 a.m. the team made their way down Heartbreak Hill to the main Kahiltna Glacier and upstream we paddled in snowshoes. Veering from the main trail we split off further west into a small basin tucked between a long black ridge and a peak known as Farine. We made camp on a high snow roll overlooking the Kahiltna to the south and it is a truly awesome sight. Tomorrow we will wake early for an attempt on the west ridge. Good luck and good night!

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Hi Chip! We hope you’re having an amazing time and it’s been everything you hoped it would be. We’ve enjoyed seeing the pictures posted so far, but look forward to hearing all about it. Love you! Mom and Dad

Posted by: Chris Nunan on 5/20/2016 at 2:11 pm

Chip,
We are so excited for you! I’m sure it is everything you have dreamed! We are all good at sea level…no worries!!! We miss you and can’t wait to see all the pictures and hear all the stories!
Love,
Your Family

While we had hoped for sunny warm skies, we were delivered a snowy cloudy morning. After a nice pancake breakfast we set out to do some training in the area. Avalanche education and crack rescue took up our entire day and folks picked up the skills pretty quickly. The clouds lifted long enough for us to drop a few folks into the hole and let their teammates pull them out. That certainly was a comical and educational experience for the team. Just before dinner the temps dropped off significantly and it started to snow again. Seems to be a bit manic weather here at 7000’ but everyone is rolling with it in style. Tomorrow we hope to move up glacier for some exploring.